FML Friends Announce February Discussion

Book Discussion

The Friends of the Library continues to host book discussions in February. The book choice for January is Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons. As the editorial staff of Publisher weekly writes “Beginning with her debut novel, Ellen Foster, Gibbons’ work has been heartwarming, and addictively readable. In this, her fourth novel, she creates a touching picture of female bonding and solidarity. Related with the simple, tart economy of a folktales, the narrative brims with wisdom and superstition, with Southern manners and insights into human nature. Like the heroines of Gibbons’s previous novels, indomitable country doctor Charlie Kate and her daughter, Sophia, have been disappointed by men. Supported by Charlie Kate’s homeopathic medical practice, which she pursues without the benefit of a degree but with the respect of the community of Raleigh, N.C. , they live with Margaret, Sophia’s daughter (the novel’s narrator), in a relatively harmonious if decidedly eccentric household. Gibbons’ picture of the South during the Depression and WWII is satisfyingly full of period references. But her triumph is the character of Charlie Kate: strong-minded, arbitrary and opinionated, a crusader for the underdog, and the grumpy but benign ruler of her offspring’s lives. Though at times she veers dangerously toward the saccharine, Gibson rescues the fairy-tale ending with a bittersweet twist, having solidly orchestrated its inevitability.

Copies of the book are available to borrow at the Library. The group will meet February 28th in the Community Room of Fletcher Memorial Library at 7 pm. Please enter from the rear parking lot of the library. New people are always welcome to come and enjoy a fun, stimulating evening with really nice people. All of our programs are free and accessible to people with disabilities.

Winter Program

The Friends continue their winter program of Take A Winter Break With Friends. First, read the book and then join us for a matinee lunch. The book is Slaughter House Five. The group will met February 12 to discuss the book and will have the matinee on February 26. Both programs are at noon in the Community Room. Please come to the matinee even if you missed the discussion. Bring a sandwich and the Friends will provide the dessert and beverage.

Clinton Files for VT Prexy Primary

Vermont House Speaker Gaye Symington and former Vermont Governor Madeleine M. Kunin today filed the petitions of Senator Hillary Clinton in accordance with the standards and practices for presidential candidates who seek access to Vermont’s Presidential Primary Ballot.

Senator Clinton’s petitions were submitted to the Office of the Vermont Secretary of State with signatures far exceeding the 1,000 minimum requirement mandated by the State of Vermont’s ballot access rules and procedures.

“I’m proud to deliver these petitions to place Hillary Clinton on the ballot in Vermont,” said former Governor Kunin. “I'm supporting her not only because she is an incredibly qualified woman, but also because she has the experience and vision to change this country."

“Hillary has the right combination of determination, experience, and heart to pull our country together and move our national priorities in a new direction,” said Speaker Symington.

January 21, 2008 is the last day for presidential candidates to submit petitions to gain access to the Vermont Presidential Primary ballot.   

The Clinton campaign submitted its presidential petition along with the state’s required filing fee and administrative document.

Spring Weaving at Black River Academy Museum

What to do after skiing but before gardening? Spend part of mud season Weaving with Wendy at the Black River Academy Museum! Participants learn in a supportive and flexible environment where mistakes are welcome and laughter is contagious.

The spring weaving workshop at Black River Academy Museum will focus on pattern weaves, including “colonial overshot” and “summer and winter.” Participants will work on 4 harness jack-type floor looms. Yarns will be available to purchase and participants can bring their stash.

Session runs for five Saturdays, 9:30 – 3:30 starting March 29th and ending on April 26. Additional hours in the BRAM weave room or at the instructor’s studio are encouraged for people who like a leisurely pace. All students must attend the first session but instructor is flexible in scheduling other work times. Registration is limited to 7.

Participants will learn to design patterns and translate those designs into weaving patterns. Along the way they will wind a warp, dress a loom, find their rhythm, and complete a beautiful, traditional weave. Students will be introduced to color in weaving, pattern design and begin to love making mistakes!

Fee: $100 BRAM members; $125 non-members; $10 materials fee. To register contact Black River Academy Museum at          802-228-5050       ; for additional information, contact Wendy Regier, underandover@tds.net.

Freelance Singers Start Rehearsals Feb. 19

If you love to sing, join the Freelance Family Singers as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the chorus. Beginning on Tuesday February 19th, rehearsals will be held on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. at Woodstock's Little Theater, on Route 4 just west of The Green. There are no auditions and all ages are welcome. The concerts will be held on Saturday May 3rd at 7:00 P.M. and Sunday May 4th at 3:00 P.M. There is a $15.00 participation fee (with scholarships available). Directed by Ellen Satterthwaite, Freelance is sponsored by the Woodstock Recreation Department.

Ludlow Owners Want Road Improved

Ludlow property owners, both residential and second home, have started a petition drive to extend the paved section of Town Farm Road an additional one-third of a mile, from the Ellison Loop Road area to the South Hill Crossroads intersection.

According to David Almond, one of the initiators of the drive, the paving of this section of the road would resolve on-going problems caused by deep road ruts that create safety problems.

The petition notes that such action would also make the road more capable of handling the increased traffic resulting from current and planned development in the Town Farms Road area.

Almond indicated that it would take several months to acquire the signatures on the petition since a "significant portion of people that have an interest in this are second homeowners (taxpayers but not registered voters) and are not here all the time".

BRAM And 6th Graders Work on Words

Recently the Black River Academy Museum (BRAM) hosted 6th graders from Ludlow Elementary School (LES) in a workshop on "Words to Live By".  The workshop, funded by an Okemo Challenge Grant, resulted in the creation of a number of banners, produced by the students, that will eventually be hung in the  school's gymnasium.

The students participating in this special program included two classes at LES:

GRADE 6 (Helberg)

1. Bortlein, Joshua
2. Chimbolo, Michael
3.    Drummond, Melanie
4. Gilmour, Maia
5.    McMahon, Damien
6.    Sanford, Brian
7.    Spinelli, Angela
8..   VanGuilder, Hannah
9.    VanHarrewijen, Teun
10.   Wade, Felicia
11.   Willard, Brooke
12.   Willard, Corey

GRADE 6 (Baitz)

1. Chambers, Emily
2.    Covell, Matthew
3.    Devereux, Matthew
4.    Gilmore, Blakely
5.    Kathan, Morgan
6.    Livingston, Hannah
7.    McGuire, Jacob
8.    Miele, Gabrielle
9.    Miele, Sydney
10.   Rumrill, Sarah
11.   Tucker, George
12.   Tyler, Corey
13.   Wade, Aysia

Assisting in the workshop were a number of local residents that included Jack Dortch, Rotary, Sharon Bixby, Rotary, Jean Morrill, several teachers and museum director Georgia Brehm.

Pictured above are some of the students involved in the workshop.  From left to right, they are Damien McMahon,Melanie Drummond, Brooke Willard, Georgia Brehm, BRAM Director, and Angela Spinelli.

TW3 Ranks Top 2007 Stories in Area

At its first 2008 broadcast, TW3 (That Was The Week That Was), broadcast on Channel 8 cable, LPC-TV, announced what it considered the top 10 stories in 2007 in the area it covers.

The included:

1 - The failure of the state legislature to do anything substantial to either reorganize school administration or revise the Act 60/68 school funding process

2 - The appointment of new Superintendents for RWSU and WSWSU

3 - The on-going water problem in Cavendish

4 - The retirement of the Chester Town Manager

5 - The successful launch of Affordable Housing in Proctorsville

6 - The battle between the GMUHS Principal and School Board

7 - The Route 103 repaving project and its impact on both area retailors and commuters

8 - The Gill Odd Fellows Home 3 time losers in seeking property tax exemption

9 - The closing of the Mill Street bridge

10 - The end of an era with D & T Spinning, the last VT mill, closing down

Mt Holly Readies for Town Plan Vote

The Mount Holly Planning Commission is holding its final public hearing on the updated Town Plan, Thursday January 10^th, at 7 p.m. in the School Gym.

Following this Hearing the Plan will be sent to the Select Board for adoption.

See the Town Plan on the Town web site at www.mounthollyvt.org or in the Town Office.

Letter Attacks Rep. Welch

(The following letter was received from Keith Stein of North Springfield, addressed to the now inactive Black River Reporter.  It is published since Black River Today is the successor to the Black River Reporter.  Opinion letters will be published in Black River Today if they are less than 500 words in length, contain no profanity or libellous content, and are signed with name, address, and phone number.  Letters may be sent to ralphpace@tds.net.)

Peter Welch has received well over $500,000 in campaign contributions already so why are the taxpayers footing the bill for his reelection propaganda? He has a four page pamphlet out spouting the same rhetoric he used to get elected while as always not giving any specifics. He did include four pictures of himself in this obvious solicitation for his reelection.

He claims to be for the middle class but refused to vote for a repeal of the alternative minimum tax that puts a hardship on those very people. He claims to have voted against it because there was no provision for making up that revenue but voted many times to increase spending without provisions to pay for that.

When will the voters wake up and see that we sent yet another career politician to Washington who will say the right things to keep his position? It is time to look for a change to the same old political mess in Washington and look to a real leader with honesty and integrity who will fight for the working class in this country. Support an independent candidate this time who will be above party politics. With runaway debt, the weakening of our dollar, more people without health insurance, and income tax system increasingly putting more of a burden on our middle class, the time is now for change, not more of the same fiscally irresponsible, brain dead politics that have got us here.

Keith Stern,

North Springfield